Daisy Vargas.
She looked so much like his best friend, Feliciano. That's what Ludwig thought when he saw how similar his best friend and the girl in front of him looked curl on the right side of her hair, the hair, although long and tied into a ponytail, looked similar to how Feliciano's hair was. If Italy were a girl, she would look like this girl in front of them.
She met him during his stay at Venice. While looking at the former beautiful landscape a a young lady caught his attention. She was standing beside him, also looking at the sea. He thought for a second when he saw that iconic curl that Feliciano was right by his side. He almost grabbed the girl's shoulder, to which the girl noticed instantly and stepped back from the man. The girl then slapped him across his face, the lady fuming from suddenly being grabbed by a stranger.
To compensate from what he did, Ludwig apologizes by helping her find his brother's place.
She is funny and sweet, but a scary person once she gets mad, is what Ludwig had observed when he was with her in that short span of time.
A possibility of reincarnation crossed his mind. There is a resemblance, but then again, some traits she has is very contrasting to the personality of Feliciano. But the possibility is still there.
"Let's go Ludwig," Gilbert said. Ludwig was so deep into his thoughts that it took minutes until he heard his brother.
Before he left the house, he checked his pocket to see if the item was there. Once he knew that he didn't left it anywhere, Ludwig then made his way towards the car where his brother was waiting for him.
Today is the death anniversary of Feliciano. He was seeing his friend's tomb again after so many years of skipping out just because he was not ready to face him yet. But now, he can accept it wholeheartedly. He now understood his reason for choosing that route, which he thought was Italy's means of escape from his responsibilities as a nation.
Italy turned into a human being after the unification between the northern and southern part of the country. Italy decided it would be best to turn the northern half to his brother as he believed his brother can make the country prosper.
"My brother can fight off enemies more than I could so he should be the one to stay", Feliciano said, "I might give away the country if I were to represent the whole Italy."
Ludwig was against with Italy's decision but in the end, Italy gave up the position of the representative of Italy in favor of his brother, Romano, who also was against the idea.
Tears began to form in his eyes as he remembered him.
Gilbert pitied his brother for all the years he spent blaming himself for the death of his friend. How he wished he could help his brother move on from.
But today, he's different. Although he's not the same Ludwig, he's slowly coming back, it's as if time has slowly starts to move again. He's no longer at a standstill.
Their kind doesn't experience death often. They are immortal as long as their country exists or if their will is so strong that even if the nation was truly gone, as long as that personification still wishes to stay, it'll stay.
Gilbert was the latter.
He can't leave his brother alone just yet. He had to keep him in check just so he will not turn into "that person" during the Second World War. It's what the UN tasked him to do after the war.
But once he's capable of standing on his own, then that's the time he has to say his farewell like Italy did.
He'll die either by fading away or becoming human.
But he wanted the latter.
He recalled the last moments of the Italian. Unlike his youthful nature when he was still a country, the man in front of him looked frail and fragile. He looked so old and worn out that the man is unrecognizable if it weren't for that stubborn curl on his side.
Feliciano looked sad and scared when they saw him. He's afraid of dying because he knew it will be the last time he can spend his time together with them. He knows that dying meant the end. He can no longer be with them forever.
But his demeanor changed when he saw his family and friends surround him. He was smiling.
"Don't worry, it will be alright," was the last thing they heard before Italy died. Gilbert heard the wails of Feliciano's grandchildren. Behind them, he saw Feliciano's son and in law hugging each other. It was a sight which made them understand death. What Gilbert saw was not to be fear of.
When his brother talked about that person he saw in Venice, he knew something changed from his brother.
It's what Italy said, it'll be alright. His brother will be alright.
Once they were on the cemetery, they made their way towards the grave.
A bouquet of white-petal, sun-like flowers sits on Feliciano's tomb, as if shining the grave with its radiance and beauty. Although the two were visiting a dead man's grave, it's as if the sadness they felt has completely washed away after seeing the beautiful flower.
Feliciano was not forgotten. He still lives on.
When the two personifications were gone, a young lady emerged behind the trees. She was visiting her precious grandfather today to commemorate his death anniversary.
She looked as if a copy of Feliciano, with long brown hair tied behind her back and a stubborn curl on her left side. It was Daisy Vargas.
She was aware of the existence of these personifications because of her grandfather. Her grandfather told her stories about war and his experience as a nation. Although she thought her grandpa was making up stories just so he could grab their attention, Daisy now understood that his grandpa only wanted to pass on his experience to the other generation so they could remember that a Feliciano is a man who was a former nation.
Now in front of Feliciano's grave, she was ready to be the one to tell stories of her life, hoping that somewhere, her grandfather can hear her stories and experiences after his death.
"I'm sorry grandpa, Luciano can't come today," she began talking in front of Feliciano's grave, "He's so busy looking after our country. Do you know he became a politician? He seems like he thinks you're crazy but I do think he was inspired by your stories."
Her brother, Luciano, never believed in such tales of his grandfather, thinking that he's hallucinating because of old age. Her brother never really liked their grandfather for being so weird and hyper despite his age. But he still loved him nonetheless.
Then something caught her attention. On the right side of the tomb, a letter was placed nicely on the side. She thought of not reading the letter as she wanted to respect the privacy of the writer. But curiosity got the better of her.
She read the letter.
Dear Feliciano,
I'm sorry for taking years to come back to this place. I can't seem to accept your death after leaving us like that. The first time you told me about giving up on your nation status and turning it over to Romano, I started to blame myself. Is it because of the pressure I did to you before to make you stronger? Is it because of the war I've forced you to join? It's as if I were to blame because of what I did to you and your country during all those years. Is this your way to hurt me?
But I realized when I saw that young woman during my trip to Venice that you never intent to hurt me or your brother. You did it out of love for us and your country. By becoming human, you are becoming part of your own country and part of history.
Instead of disappearing, you chose to be human because you wanted to live your days beside the country that you loved dearly, and become part of it, even if it entails pain and suffering. You wanted to be remembered by people around you, not just us, as Italy – Feliciano Vargas – the human that was once a personification of Italy.
That proof is that young lady, Daisy Vargas, your granddaughter.
Thank you for making me realize this. I hope to see you again.
May you live on.
Sincerely,
Germany.
Daisy couldn't contain her emotions and broke down. The man he saw the other day, that blonde man was a former friend of his grandfather.
The man can't move forward, until he saw her.
She was glad to have met that blonde man. She's glad to have helped that man recover from his loss. She's glad to have made an impact to his life.
"Thank you letting us exist, grandpa," she said, "thank you for becoming human."